Eight Legged FreakOut
by Trish47
Summary: Annie, Auggie and an unwelcome visitor that triggers Annie's arachnophobia. Fluff and humor ensue. Oneshot. Enjoy!


**So, I'm sure that we've all had unfortunate encounters with bugs and other creepy-crawlers. That's where the inspiration for this oneshot came from. It made me squirm to write some parts, but hopefully the Annie/Auggie cuteness will overpower any squirminess you might feel. :)**

**I'm not sure if this is actually plausible, but it was fun, so I went with it. This wasn't Beta-read, so any mistakes are my own.**

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Covert Affairs and don't make any money from writing about it.  
**

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Eight Legged Freak-Out

Annie finds his door unlocked, just like he said it would be when she called him from the road.

"Hello, hello?" she calls as she slides the heavy door open and enters his apartment.

Auggie's voice drifts in from the direction of his bedroom: "Help yourself to some coffee. I'm not ready to go just yet."

"You were an Eagle Scout," she remarks casually. "Shouldn't you 'always be prepared'? It's not good form to keep the carpool waiting."

Annie strolls around the kitchen island, tracing a finger along the spotless countertop. Her heels click on the laminate floor as she walks. She can hear Auggie moving around his bedroom, drawers opening and closing as he gets ready for work.

"I am always prepared," Auggie says. "I just need more time to be ready. It's different."

"No, it's not," she argues in a teasing tone, looking over the selection of fruit Auggie has next to his kitchen sink.

"Maybe you should consult a dictionary. 'Prepared' and 'ready' have two completely different def—"

Annie picks up a banana from the fruit bowl and lets out a loud shriek a second later.

A black mass emerges from between the fruit, moving into the open spot left by the banana. Annie doesn't have to count its eight long, hairy legs to know that it's a spider. An instant case of the heebie-jeebies makes Annie hop up onto the kitchen island, smushing the banana between her hand and the counter in the process.

"Auggie!" she cries as she draws her legs up underneath her body and adopts a kneeling position on the counter.

Auggie rushes out of his bedroom, his white undershirt bunched into a ring hanging around his neck as he uses his hand to follow the wall. His eyes are wide and he tilts his head to the side, listening intently.

"What is it?" he asks, concern coloring his voice.

Annie works past the lump in her throat and stammers out one word: "Sp-spider."

His head turns in her general direction, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "Where are you?"

Annie would blush in embarrassment if she weren't so preoccupied with watching the spider. Her eyes follow it as it begins crawling down the kitchen cabinets toward the floor.

"On the kitchen island," she tells him.

Auggie's confused look quickly gives way to a lopsided grin. He chuckles and finishes putting on his undershirt.

"This is not funny," she says though the high pitch of her voice undermines the serious tone she's trying to convey.

He just laughs more.

Annie is about to tell him off again when the spider reaches the bottom of the cabinet and stretches its legs to the laminate flooring. It skitters across the ground, its freakishly long legs carrying its quarter-sized body in Auggie's direction.

"Oh no, oh no," Annie breathes. "It's moving. Kill it, Auggie. Kill it!"

Still smiling, he holds up his empty hands. "With what? My charm and wit? My dashing good looks?"

Annie grumbles as she removes her left shoe.

"Here, catch."

Auggie holds his hands in front of his chest and Annie tosses the shoe directly into his grasp on the count of three.

"Now, kill it. Please?" she adds.

"You realize you're asking a blind man to kill a moving target? A very _small_ moving target? I'm not Mr. Miyagi, you know."

Annie waits for the spider to stop moving, then says, "It's three feet in front of you. About one foot to your left."

"You _are_ serious," he comments.

Annie whimpers a little. "Yes. I'm terrified of spiders, okay? It's a legitimate phobia."

"Oh."

"Hurry, before it moves."

"Okay, okay. I'll try."

A small part of her knows that, as the hand holding her shoe pulls back, Auggie's going to miss. But, to his credit, he tries anyway. The shoe hits the floor with a loud smack.

"You missed!" Annie shrieks as the spider begins running in the opposite direction. "It's moving right."

Auggie's lips break into a smile as he brings the shoe down again.

"Left!" Annie instructs.

And again.

"It's going back toward the cabinets."

Another smack.

"Auggie!" she cries.

He straightens up. "This is not going to work, Annie. I'm sorry."

She can tell he's a little frustrated, but he can't give up yet. She pleads with him, "I can't get down until it's dead."

He exhales through his nose and runs one hand over his hair, her shoe dangling from the tip of his other index finger.

"All right. New strategy," he says, moving toward the cabinets and placing her shoe next to the fruit bowl.

Annie keeps her eyes on the spider on the floor, afraid Auggie's footsteps will make it run again. Thankfully, it stays still. She swears that those eight eyes are looking up at her, glaring. Annie twitches, feeling an imaginary tickle on the back of her neck. She's going to be paranoid for the rest of the day.

Auggie opens his top cabinet and reaches for a wide-rimmed glass. "Now, tell me where it is."

"Turn forty-five degrees to the right, bend down and stretch your right arm out."

Auggie does as she says and slowly begins to lower the glass. Annie watches, holding her breath.

"Tell me when I'm warm," he says.

"Warm, but you need to move an inch to the left," she whispers. Auggie follows her directions. "Okay, you're pretty hot."

"Thanks," he says with a cheeky grin.

"Concentrate, Auggie."

He continues to smile but brings the glass a little lower; it hovers just a few inches from the ground.

"Drop it!" Annie shouts before the spider can spook and take off running.

The glass makes a dull thud as it hits the floor, trapping the spider in the confines of the clear enclosure.

"Oh my gosh!" Annie exclaims. "You did it!"

Auggie stands up again and leans against the kitchen counter behind him, smiling smugly. "Who's your hero?"

"Hey, I helped," Annie protests. "You couldn't have done it without me."

He laughs, then offers her a hand to help Annie down from her perch. "You do make an excellent sidekick, Walker."

"Sidekick!" she repeats, incredulous.

Annie takes his hand and slides off the counter, keeping her distance from the glass on the floor. As soon as her feet are firmly on the ground she gives him a little shove until he bumps into the counter behind him.

"I am not sidekick material," she says. "Take it back!"

She pokes him in the chest, just for good measure.

Auggie holds up his hands in mock-defeat. "Okay, you're right. You're not sidekick material."

She lowers her hand and harrumphs in victory.

"Superman didn't really have a sidekick anyway," he says to her back.

"Why you—!"

Auggie grasps her hand when she turns and pokes him again. He pats the back of it gently, shaking his head.

"We're going to be late for work if we don't get moving," he says.

He releases her hand and—before she can say anything—disappears into his bedroom to finish getting dressed. Annie takes the opportunity to wash the smushed banana off of her hand and put her shoe back on.

Auggie comes out a moment later, ready to go. They walk to the door together. He motions for her to go ahead of him, saying, "After you, Lois."

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**A/N: Hope you liked it. You could let me know if you did by hitting that review button. :) You know, just sayin'.**

**Also, I have enough of a head start on my angsty story to begin posting (if not next week, then the week after that for sure). And I'm pretty convinced that it's going to be titled "Robbed," so keep an eye out. :)  
**


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